Rodin celebrated at new exhibition at Tate Modern

After months of closure, the Tate Modern has opened its doors again with a new exhibition celebrating the French sculptor Auguste Rodin.

Rodin is perhaps most famous for his polished, almost classical marble artwork The Kiss, depicting the adulterous lovers Francesca da Rimini and Paolo Malatesta from Dante’s Inferno.

But The Making of Rodin reveals a different side to the artist, showing him to be a fearless rule-breaker and an innovative creator.

Alongside his more famous works, such as the Burghers of Calais, the exhibition showcases Rodin’s Frankenstein-like method of working.

On display are many of his studies, which have been broken, put back together and used on multiple occasions.

An entire case is devoted to hands and arms, while other figures are covered in pins and pencil marks.

A number of studies for Rodin’s ultimately rejected statue of Balzac are also on display, including a dressing gown dipped in plaster, which served as inspiration for the overcoat.

The exhibition also highlights some of the women in Rodin’s life, and how they supported him and his art over the years despite lacking recognition.

These include his partner Rose Beuret, his studio assistant and lover Cammile Claudel and patron Hélène Von Nostitz.

Perhaps the most obvious example of women suffering for Rodin’s art are the masks of Japanese performer Ohta Hisa, which show her famous anguished expression.

Despite her sitting for him on many occasions holding this painful pose, Hisa only received the two masks she was promised after Rodin’s death.

The Tate’s set up of the show is also a nod to Rodin’s successful exhibition in 1900.

Instead of a formal art show, the artworks were arranged as if in a studio, which is reflected in the Tate’s use of wooden plinths and studies.

The exhibition pulls together his creative process, the women who supported him in his life and the triumphant 1900 exhibition – all the things that truly were the making of Rodin.

The Making of Rodin runs until November 21.

Tickets are on sale online now.